Birthright
by JMS529
Summary: Marshall is kidnapped and held by a man that looks identical to him and claiming to be his dead older brother who wants the life Marshall has since it was his birthright.
1. Chapter 1

Thank you to Kathiann for betaing the story.

Spoilers for season 1 and season 2.

Disclaimer I don't own any of the characters.

**Birthright**

Mary and Marshall had finally arrived back at the Sunshine Building after being gone four days moving one of Mary's witnesses who forgot the whole do not contact anyone from your previous life policy.

The elevator opened revealing the two tired inspectors. Stan and Eleanor both looked up and noticed how they both were dragging.

"How'd it go?" Stan inquired taking a closer look at them as they made their way towards their desks.

"Let's see; we were shot at several times, almost blown up once, nearly run off the road a few times and rerouted even more times before handing the idiot to the Denver marshals." Mary stated sarcastically. "Did I miss anything?" She asked looked at Marshall.

"Nope, pretty good summary" Marshall deadpanned.

Stan rolled his eyes. "Why don't you both go home, shower, change, and get some sleep. You definitely need it."

"Are you telling us we stink?" Mary asked in disbelief.

"Oh yeah!" Eleanor piped in and Mary glared at her.

"Let's go Doofus; I can tell were not wanted." Mary grabbed Marshall by the arm and leads him to the elevator.

"Night Stan, Eleanor." Marshall called out.

Mary stared at Marshall. "They told us we stink and you say goodnight?"

"Manners are not a bad thing Mare and I'm sure they meant it in the nicest way possible." Marshall reminded her.

"Unbelievable." Mary stated shaking her head at Marshall.

They parted ways as they reached their vehicles and said goodnight before driving out of the parking lot.

The man smiled; he'd been watching them for months. Learning everything he possibly could without being caught. He watched as Marshall's partner headed in the opposite direction and smiled.

"Tonight we meet at last; tonight I claim what's mine." He spoke into the silence of his car. He'd give Marshall and hour before going to his house.

Marshall was thrilled to be home; it had been a long four days and he just wanted to sit back and relax. Remembering what Stan said he headed for the shower and changed into his rocket pajama bottoms and gray t-shirt. The bed looked so inviting by the time he'd gotten out of the shower that he decided to call it an early night. Climbing into bed, his eyes drifted closed as his head hit the pillow.

The man saw the lights out in the house and headed to the door; picking the lock he slipped in and silently headed to Marshall's bedroom. When he entered the room he saw the gun, badge, and handcuffs sitting on top of the dresser. Grabbing them all he moved towards the sleeping form. Straddling Marshall he trapped his arms before pulling out the syringe and injects it into Marshall as he began to stir. The second the syringe entered Marshall his eyes flew open and he attempted to buck the man off of him but the drug was fast acting and had him unconscious in minutes.

The man went out and pulled the truck into the garage and dragged Marshall through the house and placed him into the back cab of his truck and set him on the floor so he couldn't be seen. Once that was done he headed back into the house and grabbed Marshall's wallet and cell phone before returning to the truck and heading out into the night.

Mary had fallen asleep on the couch while watching television; something caused her to shoot up awake and she swiftly looked around the room for a threat.

"Mary, you okay?" Brandi asked having nearly screamed at the sudden movement from her sister.

Mary couldn't shake the feeling that something wasn't right. Her first thought was to call Marshall but when she saw the time she didn't want to disturb him so she shrugged it off as the left over effects of their Colorado trip.

"I think so. I'm going to bed." Mary headed to her room but it took a couple of hours before she could sleep. Her gut was telling her something was off and preventing her from sleeping.

The man waited in the old wooded chair after placing Marshall in its duplicate with his hands handcuffed over a metal pipe to prevent him from escaping. The drug would be wearing off shortly and there were important details he needed before he went to work tomorrow.

His patience finally began to be rewarded when he heard the small groan from Marshall as he began to come around. Finally they would be face to face.

Marshall was having a hell of a time opening his eyes. They seemed heavier than normal and then it clicked in his mind that he'd been injected with something. Forcing his head up, he looked at the man sitting across from him and was dumbstruck.

"Who the hell are you?" Marshall asked shocked. He felt like he was looking in a mirror; this person was a duplicate of himself.

"Well, is that any way to greet you big brother Marshall?" The man questioned.

"My older brother was kidnapped and killed when I was a year old. So who are you really?" Marshall tried again.

"Kidnapped yes, killed no. I believe my original name was Dante Mann."

"No, absolutely not. They confirmed Dante's body was found. I don't know who you are but you're lying." Marshall stated adamantly, he knew the story by heart and watched his parents grieve every year on Dante's birthday and the anniversary of the day he died. This man was playing some sick and twisted game with his mind and he didn't want any part of it.

"It's not hard to confirm when the person doing the autopsy is the one who kidnapped you. They stole me and named me Albert Jenkins. I later changed it to Dante Jenkins" He replied.

"If that's true why not run away or come back when you were older? Why take me from my home to tell me this? What's this about?" Marshall's mind was on overload and he wasn't sure what to think.

"There was no running away from them and they showed me how everyone moved on without me. Mom and Dad had their precious little Marshall to keep them happy; they didn't need me. Taking you is about claiming back my birthright. Our parents will never accept me for me but if I become you than I get my rightful place in the Mann legacy of U.S. Marshal Service and family. I've come for what should've been mine." Dante answered.

"You don't have the training or the experience; what makes you think that you can pull it off? You'll get people killed." Marshall stated angrily.

"I've watched you for months, I can do this; it's not that hard. I'll stay here for a little bit and get it down pat before requesting a transfer to get closer to our parents." Dante stated smiling. "Any details I need you'll provide or your partner, boss, and secretary will pay dearly for it. Let's start with what I need to know for tomorrow."

"I'm not helping you there's no way." Marshall couldn't do that it was against everything he'd been taught.

"Then I'll start with your partner; it should be relatively easy to get rid of her; just go out with her to check on someone and she won't make it back. Accidents happen you know."

Marshall saw the crazed look in Dante's eyes and knew he'd do it. He had to tell Dante most of the truths but give him some very subtle changes that would be recognized by his co-workers. "What information are you looking for?"

They spent the remainder of the night going over everything he would need to do tomorrow. Marshall would play it straight the first day so he could think of somehow to get a message to Stan and Mary.

Dante left early in the morning and drove back to Marshall's house. He headed to the bathroom and showered making sure to use all of Marshall's personal items; then he wandered to the closet and grabbed an outfit he's seen his brother wear together and finally grabbed the boots looked into the mirror and smiled before heading off to work.


	2. Chapter 2

Mary strode into the office relaxed after seeing Marshall's truck in the parking lot. Her night had been fitful and she still had that weird feeling but couldn't place it yet.

"Hey Doofus." Mary stated before sitting down at her desk.

Dante was concentrating on getting into Marshall's computer and working on the report that was due; he never heard Mary talking to him and about jumped out of his skin when she put both hands on his desk.

"Morning." He greeted.

"Are you alright?" Mary asked concerned.

"Sorry, just thinking." Dante replied

"Well try not to do too much of that; you can do some damage to that over populated brain of yours." Mary went back to her desk.

Stan came in and looked at the two of them. "Make sure I have those reports in before you leave today."

Dante nodded and Mary looked towards him as Stan went into the office. "How soon are you going to have our reports done?"

Dante stared at her in disbelief. "Mine will be done by the end of the day; you can do your own damn report." He snapped Marshall never mentioned doing her report.

Eleanor's head shot up in surprise at Marshall's tone and refusal to do Mary's paperwork.

"What the hell's your problem?" Mary questioned stunned.

There was no way Dante was doing her paperwork for her; he wasn't even sure how to do it the way Marshall would. She was going to need to change her ways; he wasn't a pushover like Marshall and didn't need the extra worries. "Call it a revelation but it's high time you did your own paperwork." Dante stated firmly.

Stan who had come out of his office for coffee almost dropped the mug on the floor at Marshall's statement. This wouldn't end well if Marshall didn't lose the sudden attitude; something had to have happened after they left the office last night.

"So what you had an epiphany last night? Today is the day to push Mary's buttons to see how long before I'd hurt you?" Mary hissed at him.

"More like a why don't you pull your own weight so I don't get stuck with all the paperwork?" Dante stated back.

Eleanor gasped at the comment; as Mary stood up to do some damage to Marshall. Stan quickly intervened.

"Mary, go check on your witnesses." He saw her hesitate. "Go now." He stated in an authoritative voice.

Stan turned towards Marshall next. "You go home. I don't know what has gotten into you today but it better be gone by tomorrow. Finish your report from home I still expect it in today."

Dante gathered up what he needed including the laptop and headed out of the office. He managed to stop himself from grumbling about the unfairness of it all. Then a thought popped into his head. _Baby brother can type up his own report._ Not saying a word to Stan or Eleanor he strode to the elevator and out to the truck.

Stan and Eleanor both watched Marshall leave before Eleanor commented. "What was that about? I don't think I've ever heard him speak to Mary like that before. Last time he was mad at her he didn't say much at all to her, refused to fill out the form but gave her the form at least."

"I don't know but I know that I don't like it." Stan told Eleanor before grabbing his cell phone to call Mary.

"Shannon."

"Do you want to fill me in on what's going on with your partner?" Stan questioned.

"I don't know; he was fine last night when we left and this morning it's all attitude." Mary didn't know if she should be furious or concerned. Having a few minutes to cool off concern was taking over.

"Did he get hurt at all yesterday?" Stan wondered if something triggered it.

"No, we got bounced around some but there were no injuries. He was tired but he's never been this grumpy before." Mary retorted.

"Alright; if he's still like this tomorrow we can talk to him." Stan stated baffled.

"I'll do more than talk." Mary grumbled under her breath.

Dante drove to the outskirts of town entering the abandoned manufacturing building that he left Marshall in. Quickly checking around he grabbed the laptop and headed into the building prepared to let Marshall type up his report. It would give him and idea on how to do the next one.

"Good morning baby brother." Dante greeted Marshall. "Don't look so surprised to see me; that damn partner of yours is infuriating and you should've had the balls to set her straight years ago."

"What'd you do?" Marshall questioned worriedly.

"Told her to do her own damn paperwork for a change and if she bothered to pull her own weight at work it wouldn't be necessary for me to do so much." Dante smiled smugly.

Marshall kept his smile hidden because Dante probably raised all sorts of red flags with that. "Are you pulling your weight by coming here?"

"The boss didn't like my attitude; you need to fill out your report and give it to him." Dante informed.

"That would be kind of hard with handcuffs on." Marshall shook the cuffs around the pipes to illustrate his point.

"I can work something out; don't do anything stupid. Hurting you would be such a shame." Dante laughed menacingly.

"I'm sure it would break your heart." Marshall couldn't help the sarcasm.

Dante set up the laptop and then removed the handcuffs from around the pipes. Marshall waited until his hands were lowered before jamming his body weight into Dante shoving him off balance. Dante reached out and missed Marshall's arm so he swung his leg out and managed to trip him. Marshall fell to the ground but quickly managed to roll over and kick Dante in the stomach sending him backwards. Marshall scurried over towards Dante who managed to stop himself from falling over and lunged at Marshall sending the two of them crashing to the floor. Rolling around throwing punches they both struggled to dominate the fight; Marshall started to get the upper hand just as Dante noticed they had moved near a protruding metal pipe and if he could hit Marshall just right he'd be able to send him into it. Marshall swung and went to grab Dante's left arm when Dante managed to get the opportunity he'd been looking for and slammed Marshall to his left side and into the pipe rendering him unconscious.

"Not bad baby brother." Dante smirked before dragging Marshall to the chair and cuffing his legs to the chair legs and his hands together.


	3. Chapter 3

Mary had finished checking her witnesses and was heading back to the office to get her report in but decided to have a pointed discussion with Marshall. Pulling up to the driveway she noted the truck wasn't outside.

Using the key he'd given her she let herself in. "Marshall?" She called out without getting an answer. Wandering through the house she didn't see him and headed back out to the Probe.

She grabbed her cell phone and dialed his number; waiting impatiently for it to be picked up. When it went into voicemail she called Stan.

"McQueen."

"Stan, its Mary. Did Marshall go back to the office?"

"No, why?" Stan questioned.

"He's not at his house and not picking up his phone." Mary reported.

"Maybe he needs time to cool off. Leave him alone until tomorrow and maybe he'll have calmed down." Stan tried to reassure but wasn't completely comfortable with his own assessment of Marshall at least not after this morning.

Mary knew he had a point but was reluctant to leave. "Maybe." Mary waited for a couple of hours and when he didn't show she headed back to the office.

Marshall came to with a nasty headache and Dante glaring at him. His laptop from work was in front of him opened and turned on. His legs were cuffed to the chair and his hands were cuffed in front of him.

"Nice of you too wake up; now get to work on the report." Dante stated firmly.

Marshall began to type the report and had originally thought of putting wrong information in it but he knew Stan would call Dante on it right away and he didn't know how Dante would respond to it. He decided to rig the e-mail with a virus that would hide a message to Stan where he could inform Stan on what was happening. The virus would need to be fixed by IT so they could locate his hidden message. Whenever Dante would get up to stretch, Marshall would work on embedding the virus and hidden message into the report e-mail.

Dante was getting restless. "Would you speed it up? This is taking forever."

Marshall glared at him. "You want it to be how I normally do it or would you like a condensed version that'll have everyone suspicious about it. Personally I'd be more than happy to help with the second option. If you want it faster than remove the handcuffs so I can actually type properly."

Dante came up and punched Marshall. "Don't get smart with me. Just do the report."

Marshall continued to work on both the report and his virus and was grateful Dante was staying away from him for longer periods of time. A couple hours later he finished with both. "Done."

Dante came over and looked at it before having Marshall send it out. "Now we need to discuss more about your daily habits and information that I should know. Hit send before we start."

"If you insist." Marshall hid the smirk.

Mary was frustrated; ignoring Stan's advice she tried to reach Marshall several times during the later part of the day and continued to get his voicemail.

"Doofus you can't avoid me forever. Pick up the damn phone and start explaining yourself." Mary demanded into his voice mail.

"Yeah that's the kind of message that would encourage a call back." Eleanor said sarcastically.

Mary glared at her. "Well if he wasn't behaving like a jackass it wouldn't be necessary."

"Did it ever occur to you that maybe Marshall is having a bad day? He's entitled after all he does work with you." Eleanor smirked.

"You're a regular standup comedian; you know that." Mary snarled back.

"Interesting but not quite my calling; thanks for the suggestion though." Eleanor got up and headed into Stan's office.

"I'm out of here." Mary called on her way out while trying Marshall again.

Dante stared at the caller id on Marshall's phone. "Does she ever go away? You need to grow a pair and put her in place."

"When you decide to try that with her let me know. Put it on video; I'd love to see her beat the crap out of you." Marshall smiled as that thought left a nice image.

Dante was furious. "No girl would best me you fool." With that he backhanded Marshall.

"She's not a girl." Marshall replied back.

Dante ignored the remark. "So what do I expect to deal with tomorrow?"

"An angry partner; a confused boss and whatever problem comes up for the day. There isn't a typical day in law enforcement." Marshall replied. "Offer to let Mary drive to go check on witnesses; it might ease her anger. Don't insult the car or recommend she buy another either; just remind her it's a classic." _It'll definitely make her suspicious._

Dante didn't like being toyed with and that's what he believed Marshall was doing. Grabbing a clump of hair he yanked Marshall's head backward and began to hiss out. "I need specific details now stop stalling."

Marshall was fed up with Dante. "I can't give you specifics because things come up at any time and circumstances change. This isn't a standard job; you have to be flexible and adapt. There are no typical days; witnesses have troubles, new ones come in unexpected, if I could predict the future do you really think I'd be here now?"

Dante had a feeling now that maybe he was telling the truth and began to pace back and forth trying to come up with a plan. This wasn't going to be as easy as he'd originally thought. "If nothing comes up what would you be doing?"

"Routine is paperwork and maybe check on some witnesses." Marshall answered truthfully.

"Well than goodnight baby brother. If your story pans out maybe I'll even bring some food and water tomorrow." Dante laughed and left the building.

The minute he heard the door close Marshall began to work on feeing himself from the chair. Dante forgot to move him back to the pipe and this might be the opportunity he needed. Marshall yanked on the cuffs that were attached to his legs in hopes the wood chair would break under the strain when that didn't work he began rocking the chair back and forth to tilt him over so he could move towards the protruding pipes and maybe break the legs against them.

Mary woke in the morning and checked her voice mail to see if Marshall had called her and she missed it. This is the first time in their four year partnership he'd ignored her messages. She didn't like this at all and was becoming more concerned by the minute maybe he did injure himself the other day. Something was causing him to act out and she needed to get to the bottom of it before she decided shooting him would be the better option.

Grabbing her things she drove to the office and noticed Marshall's truck wasn't there yet. Marshall was a toast if he'd gone out on witness checks without her today. Storming past her partner's empty desk she looked to Eleanor.

"Where's Marshall?"

"Do I look like his keeper?" Eleanor retorted but when she saw the concern on Mary's face she decided to answer. "He hasn't been in yet."

"Stan worried also?" Mary could tell Eleanor was.

"Yes, but he did receive his report yesterday." Eleanor replied back. They both turned towards Stan's office when they heard him yelling on the phone.

"What's that about?" Mary questioned.

"Computer glitch. He's trying to get IT to fix it right away." Eleanor shrugged.

"Then come up and get it!" Stan fumed into the phone before slamming it and walking out glaring at Mary. "Where's your partner?"

"Your guess is as good as mine." Mary stated.

Stan grabbed his cell phone and dialed Marshall. When he didn't get an answer he left a message. "Marshall you're late and better have a damn good explanation for it." Stan turned back to Mary. "What in the hell is going on and don't tell me nothing."

"Honestly Stan, I haven't got a clue. Marshall isn't even answering my phone calls or messages." Mary replied. "He's never done that before."


	4. Chapter 4

Dante woke in Marshall's bed and stretched leisurely. He was enjoying the nice house and all the extras Marshall had in it. Getting up he grabbed another combination of clothes he'd seen his brother wear and headed for the shower.

Once dressed, he picked up the cell phone and noted the messages from Mary and ignored them. Leisurely taking his time he decided to stop and check on Marshall before heading into the office.

Marshall had finally gotten the chair legs to crack and eventually break off allowing his legs to be freed; getting up he began to search the building for a way out. The door was locked from the outside and wouldn't budge; the back door wouldn't budge at all it must be jammed by something; there were no windows to escape from and he could feel his frustration rise.

Marshall began to search the premises for something he could use as a weapon and for something he could use to get the cuffs off his hands. His search found him a loose metal pipe that he could use but nothing for the cuffs. He began to head towards the front door when he heard the familiar sound of his truck. Hiding behind an old oil barrel he waited for Dante to enter the building.

Dante turned the key unlocking the door while ignoring the ringing of the cell phone as he entered the building. He turned to close the door as he saw something moving out of the corner of his eye. Ducking he managed to avoid getting hit over the head but was knocked to the floor with the force of the impact on his back. He lay there stunned and in pain.

Marshall saw his keys on the ground and swiftly grabbed them up and headed towards the door. He managed to get into the truck before hearing the creak of the door being opened. Shoving the keys in the ignition he started the truck and hit the accelerator hard as he put it into reverse. Switching the car into drive he noticed Dante in the rearview mirror pointing a gun at the truck.

Dante aimed to shoot through the driver side window; squeezing the trigger several times, he missed the truck began to run to catch up with the truck. He stopped as Marshall was turning the truck towards the road and squeezed the trigger again. His aim had been off since he'd been shooting for the Marshall's head but he managed to accidentally hit the tire causing Marshall to lose control and end up in the ditch next to the road.

Marshall sat for a second stunned as his head hit the steering wheel; he knew the truck would get him nowhere but he wasn't going back with Dante without putting up some kind of fight so he opened the door and climbed out preparing to fight him for his freedom.

Dante smiled as he saw Marshall moving to get out of the truck. "Where'd you think you're going brother? There's nowhere to run to." He spoke as if Marshall could hear him as he began to approach the truck.

Dante saw Marshall prepare for him and smiled as he got close enough to be heard. "So you want to lose another round with me?"

"Wouldn't count on that." Marshall stated back.

Dante pointed the gun at Marshall and smiled back. "I have plenty rounds left to kill you with. I'm thinking at this point you might want to reconsider your options."

Marshall knew he was right, there were five shots fired which meant eight were left. Letting Dante grab him by the neck he waited until he closed the gap between the two of them; as Dante leaned in to make a comment Marshall took the opportunity to head butt him and thrust his elbows into his gut before knocking the gun from his hand.

"You are becoming a pain little brother." Dante hissed as he recovered from the head butt and ignored the pain in his gut.

"I try." Marshall replied sarcastically before swinging his cuffed hands at Dante's head.

"What's the matter? Can't fight with cuffs on?" Dante questioned just before Marshall made contact with his face.

"What was that?" Marshall questioned after hitting Dante.

Rage flowed through Dante and he swept his leg out knocking Marshall to the ground as he turned to grab the gun. Picking it up he pointed it at Marshall and shot him in the leg just as he was getting up off the ground.

Marshall's leg gave out and he grabbed it while biting back the scream of pain that was trapped in his throat. There was no way he'd give Dante the satisfaction of hearing him in pain.

"That's what you get for disobeying." Dante hissed and dragged Marshall back into the building. He then found a dirty tattered cloth lying on the floor and used it to stop the bleeding. "You're lucky I still need you around."

"Really is that what you call it? Luck?" Marshall stated between clenched teeth as Dante tightened the cloth around his leg.

Dante had enough of the smart remarks and took the butt pg the gun to knock Marshall out.

"Silence is golden you fool." Taking Marshall's arms he cuffed them over the pipe again and let him dangle from it.

Now he had to call a tow truck, pull the bullet out of the tire and make up and excuse as to why he was late and where the bruises he had came from. "You're almost more trouble than your worth." He muttered to Marshall before locking the building up and heading towards the truck.

Stan was alternating between fury and concern as it was almost eleven and there was no sign of Marshall; finally having enough he turned to Eleanor. "Track his damn truck and when you find it let me know."

Eleanor nodded and looked towards Mary who shrugged. They were all worried especially after his odd behavior yesterday. Eleanor called it in and they waited for the reply but as they were waiting Stan's cell went off.

Looking at the caller id Stan flipped the phone open. "You better have a damn good excuse for not calling or coming in before now Marshall."

Dante rolled his eyes before answering Stan. "Sorry I had a blow out and the truck went into a ditch. I had to have it towed and checked but should be there shortly. I would've called sooner but I didn't think it would take this long."

"Are you okay?" Stan asked.

"A few bumps and bruises nothing major." Dante smiled figuring he just gave himself the cover story he needed to explain the damage Marshall had done.

"Alright, but next time call first." Stan hung up.

"What'd he say?" Mary asked the second Stan was off the phone.

Stan relayed the message. "Now let's get some productive work done today."

Marshall came to and was angry with himself; he should've been able to get away. Stan's computer wouldn't be fixed for a couple of days at least so it would be awhile before he got the message. The Dante's lack of patience would cause concern amongst them but he hoped it was before Mary and Dante were sent out on assignment as his shooting skills left a lot to be desired; the thought of Mary having Dante as the only line of protection left him with a feeling of dread.


	5. Chapter 5

Dante arrived at the building and headed to the elevator with a smile on his face and a spring in his step. Something about beating his brother twice made for a good day; the smile faded as soon as he entered and was rewarded with a comment from Mary.

"Nice of you to drop by today." Mary stated sarcastically. "I see you not only don't know how to pick up your phone to call but also don't know how to answer it either."

"What's the matter no one here to do your work for you?" Dante seethed back. She was more annoying to him then Marshall.

Stan heard the bickering starting already and came out of his office. "We are _not_ going to do this again today. Do I make myself clear? Marshall I suggest you get over whatever is eating you; at least Mary showed up on time."

Mary turned and gave Marshall a smug smile. Dante ignored the smile not knowing how Marshall would've responded. Mary was surprised he didn't respond.

"You okay?" Mary questioned.

"Fine." Dante shrugged.

Mary walked over to his desk and began to inspect his face. "Personally I think the truck won the battle; you should have some pretty shades of black and blue going later."

"I don't know about that it's still in the shop trying to be repaired." Dante stated back just as Stan popped out of his office.

"Mary there's a problem with one of your witnesses; they're caught up in a holdup with a person confirmed killed at the bank on Central Ave. Take Marshall and go check it out."

"Come on Mr. Sunshine let's see who else's day you can ruin." Mary figured with his attitude lately it would definitely happen.

They headed out to the Probe, the drive unnaturally quiet. Mary cast a few glances towards Marshall but remained silent for ten minutes before having enough.

"Are you ever going to tell me what's crawled up your butt and died?" Mary questioned.

Dante looked around her car in disgust and then finally bit back. "Maybe about the day you decide to get rid of this "classic" car of yours."

Mary looked at him oddly. When had her car become a classic? "That's the best you can do? Oh look it's our favorite homicide detective." She noticed Dershowitz as she parked the car.

"To what do I owe the honor of a visit from my two favorite marshals? Oh wait you can't tell me; silly me what was I thinking?" Dershowitz stated sarcastically.

"See how you are Dershowitz? We come for a friendly visit and all we get is attitude. You should stick with Marshall he seems to be full of attitude lately." Mary glared at her partner before turning her attention back to Dershowitz.

"Trouble in paradise?" Bobby D asked looking towards Marshall.

"If this is paradise I hate to see what hell looks like." Dante replied back disgustedly.

Dershowitz's eyebrows went up in surprise. "Anyways I'll assume someone involved is one of yours. We've got a hostage situation inside the bank and one of the loan officers was shot and killed. The negotiator is trying to find out what demands the robbers have. SWAT is preparing to go in if that fails. I'm guessing the two of you would like to go in also."

"Good guess." Mary stated feeling her adrenaline pick up at the thought.

"I'll advise SWAT that you'll be helping if we need to go in." Dershowitz stated before walking off.

Mary looked to Marshall. "You sure you're up to this?"

"Aren't I always?" Dante answered.

"I'm not kidding Marshall, you've been off since yesterday and people's lives are at stake. I need to know the truth." Mary couldn't keep the concern from her voice.

"Why don't you stop worrying over me and start concentrating on yourself." Dane seethed and walked away from her.

Mary was tempted to deck him. Dershowitz came back over towards her. "Are we all set?" She questioned.

"Yeah. They want to give the negotiator a half hour more and then we'll be putting the plan into action. What's wrong with Marshall?" Dershowitz noticed he wasn't anywhere near Mary now and that in itself was unusual.

"I don't know but if it doesn't stop soon I'm going to hurt him." Mary let out frustrated. "Silence and snide remarks I can deal with eventually we both cave but his anger, not showing up for work on time, not calling or picking up calls, and the attitude are really starting to piss me off."

"We are talking Marshall Mann here right? When did it start?" Dershowitz asked concerned.

"Yesterday, that's the weird part he was fine the night before." Mary shrugged. "No indication of anything wrong."

"Maybe it's personal and he needs to blow off some steam; take him to the shooting range or gym. It might help get things back to normal." Dershowitz suggested before getting information over his earpiece. "Let's get your partner and find out the plan; the negotiator doesn't think they'll be able to talk them down."

"Marshall." Mary called and tilted her head in sign for him to follow where they were headed.

They headed over to the SWAT commander to receive their instructions. Mary, Dante, and Bobby D would be in charge of getting to the hostages in the rear of the bank while the SWAT members neutralized the threats. They headed to their positions outside the bank.

Mary squatted down waiting for the signal to go; casting a glance at Marshall she noticed he was perspiring as if he was nervous. She couldn't shake the uneasy feeling in her gut and wished Stan had ordered Marshall to stay at the office. It was a foreign feeling to her; Marshall always gave her a calming presence before the possibility of gun play but this time she was agitated and worried.

Dante could feel his blood pressure rise as the call to enter was given. Fear flowed through his veins but he kept following Mary figuring he could repeat her movements. Dershowitz broke towards the right while Mary and Dante moved towards the left. They continued towards the rear of the bank hearing the sounds of gunfire being exchanged between SWAT and the robbers on the other side of the bank.

When they reached the back near the vault two armed men came out, Mary yelled for them to freeze and they responded by firing on them. They all headed for the closest form of cover they could find. Mary was separated from Marshall but could see him from her location and what she saw baffled her completely.

Dante felt his heart rate spike through the roof when Mary yelled for the men to freeze and they started firing. Quickly looking for the nearest cover he hid, closed his eyes and couldn't stop his body from shaking in fear. There was no way that he was moving from his current location.

Dershowitz looked to Mary to signal which way for them to go when he saw her staring with a shocked expression and as he followed her gaze to Marshall he saw him trembling petrified in fear. Knowing they didn't have time to figure it out he caught Mary's attention and signaled for her to get the one on the left while he grabbed the man on the right.

Dershowitz and Mary went on the count of three and took out the robbers watching the hostages. Moving forward they continued to the hostages; making sure they were all okay before taking position in front of them until it was safe to move them out of the building. Finally getting the all clear, Dershowitz led the hostages out and tried not to call attention to Marshall's huddled form; leaving Mary to deal with her partner.

Mary went over to Marshall and squatted down in front of him. "Marshall," she spoke gently trying not to spook him more. "Talk to me. What's going on?"

Dante knew he screwed up royally but couldn't stop the shaking. He could hear her talking to him but didn't know what to say. He was sure this would have ramifications and keep him out of the field. "I don't know."

"Can you get up? Are you ready to go?" Mary asked and gave him a hand when he nodded. As they walked out Dershowitz looked at her questioningly and she shook her head; grateful no one else had seen what they had.

Dante followed Mary out blindly knowing he needed to know what to do about damage control for this mess. Baby brother was going to get another visit; he needed to know how to fix this. "I'm sorry." He whispered figuring Marshall would apologize.

Mary looked at him. "I know you are but it's not going to cut it. Marshall you put those people, Dershowitz and I in danger. Something isn't right with you and it needs to be fixed. You're not fit for duty." Those words hurt her in ways she didn't want to comprehend. "I'll drop you off at home."

"I'll get help." Dante offered knowing his version of help wouldn't come close to what she was thinking.

"You won't have a choice if you want to stay in this job." Mary replied honestly.

Mary dropped Marshall off at his house and then took off for the office; she and Stan were going to have to have an unpleasant conversation.


	6. Chapter 6

Dante showered and changed before lying down on Marshall's bed. He needed rest and then time to figure out how to handle his mistake. If he couldn't repair the damage done today he'd have to get rid of Marshall. All trails of what happened here need to be erased.

Staring at the ceiling Dante let his mind wander to possible scenarios. If he embarrassed Marshall's good name then he wouldn't be able to go meet his parents. They should have never stopped looking for him. His anger level increased as he went through the house looking for where Marshall stored photos. He had to have them somewhere in this house.

Walking into Marshall's office room he found what he was looking for. Grabbing the photo album he looked at the way his parents stared at Marshall like he was the greatest thing that ever lived. If he couldn't get to them he'd take Marshall from them they'd suffer like he did.

Mary stormed into the office and right to Stan. "We have a huge problem."

Stan looked at Mary and then behind her. "What is it and where's your partner?"

"Marshall would be the problem and I dropped him off at home since he isn't fit for duty." Mary knew the last statement would catch Stan's attention.

"What happened?" Stan demanded.

"He froze; Marshall froze. He doesn't freeze Stan. Dershowitz witnessed it to. He got into cover and was shaking something fierce; he couldn't leave the cover. He was frozen in place. You need to get Shelly Finkle in here to talk to him. He's not my Marshall; he looks like him, dresses like him but doesn't act like him. Maybe he did injure something on the way to Colorado." Mary stated pacing back and forth in front of Stan's desk.

"Is the attitude still there?" Stan questioned.

"Yes, it was before the shooting; Dershowitz noticed it too." Mary confirmed. "It's almost as if he's been replaced. Maybe I should take him to the gym or firing range like Dershowitz suggested. The gym sounds better though with what happened today."

"Mary, whatever is wrong with him you can't beat it out of him." Stan warned.

"Give me a break; I wouldn't hurt him besides I'm just talking about using the fitness machines." Mary shrugged.

"Okay." Stan agreed hoping it would help. "I'll call Shelly and see what we can do; in the meantime he's on desk duty."

"Stan we have to fix this." Mary told him; she didn't want another partner.

"We'll do everything possible for him Mary; I'm not going to just give up on him." Stan was fond of both his inspectors; if he was honest with himself they were as close to having children as he'd come.

Dante slept for several hours before calling a cab to pick him up and take him to the shop for the truck. Once it was retrieved he headed out to the manufacturing building. He needed answers before the months of studying and planning to take over Marshall's life was ruined.

Walking towards the back of the building he found Marshall. "You're not looking so good there Marshall. How's the leg?"

"Like you care. What do you want now?" Marshall was tired, hungry, hurting and thirsty and not in the mood for Dante's crap. "You shouldn't be back already; what did you mess up this time?" Marshall may not have a watch but he was pretty sure that a full day hadn't gone by.

Enraged by the fact he'd figured it out; Dante walked over and backhanded Marshall. "Shut up!"

"What's the matter too much truth for you?" Marshall continued to bait him.

Dante punched Marshall in the stomach before answering. "You think you're so smart. You won't be feeling that way when I'm through with you."

"You're assuming you'll still be around." Marshall laughed antagonizing him more.

"No one will rescue you; they don't even know you're missing. I see you need to be taught a lesson; but will get to that after you explain what happens after you freeze up in a shootout." Dante smiled when he saw Marshall's eyes filled with concern.

"What did you do?" Marshall demanded.

"What's the matter worried about your partner or detective friend?" Dante taunted. "They took care of the problem but have serious concerns about your job performance after _you _froze up in the middle of an assignment."

"You idiot; you could've gotten them or someone else killed!" Marshall was furious.

"How do you handle it without freezing up?" Dante questioned.

"It's instinctual; you put the other people first and know that if you don't do your job someone could get killed." Marshall didn't know how else to explain it.

Dante thought about it. "I'll have to give it a try next time. How long before they start whatever process needs to be done and what will they do?"

"Mary probably already talked to Stan and he'll be making arrangements for you to see the departmental psychologist; but how soon depends on the psychiatrist's schedule. You'll be removed from any field work and stuck on desk duty." Marshall answered.

"What will the shrink ask?" Dante demanded.

"I don't know; I've never frozen up before." Marshall bit back.

Dante's anger spiked at the reminder of that fact that he'd failed in the field. "It's time you learned a lesson about how to treat your elders." He threw the first punch to Marshall's gut, then next to his side and continued to beat on him until his rage subsided. "You're not looking so tough now are you Marshall?"

Marshall spit out some of the blood from his lip and glared at Dante. "Easy to say when you're hitting someone that can't fight back. Not _man_ enough to fight me on equal terms?"

Dante threw a punch into Marshall's face rendering him unconscious. "You never learn."

Mary wrote up her reports for the bank incident and reluctantly handed them in. Stan looked on her with sympathy for having to put in Marshall's reaction.

"Do you care if we come in late tomorrow? I want to see if I can get Marshall to work off some of his frustrations." Mary needed to find a way to help.

Stan nodded in agreement. "Just bring him back in one piece."

"He'll be intact I promise." Mary stated before heading out.

She drove towards Marshall's and once again found the place vacant. "Where've you been going lately Doofus?" Her voice was hollow in the empty car before heading home.

Walking into her house she grabbed her phone and dialed Marshall waiting for him to pick up.

"What?" Dante snapped into the phone.

"Be ready for the gym by seven tomorrow morning. I'm picking you up." Mary stated.

"Why?" Dante demanded.

"It's a good way to vent off frustration and neither of us has been to the gym in awhile." Mary informed.

"Whatever but I'm picking you up or meeting you there." Dante rolled his eyes in disgust.

"Okay, pick me up." Mary bit out before shutting her cell phone and heading to bed frustrated at Marshall's continual pissy behavior.


	7. Chapter 7

Mary was up early and waiting for Marshall to pick her up. Jinx had left for the day and Brandi strolled into the kitchen for a cup of coffee.

"You're up early. What's up?" Brandi questioned.

"Marshall and I are going to the gym before going to work." Mary stated casually.

"What kind of workout?" Brandi teased.

"Get your mind out of the gutter; for crying out loud its Marshall." Mary shook her head.

"Precisely." Brandi stated.

"Why aren't you at Peter's?" Mary asked hearing the truck pull up and ignoring Brandi's remark.

"He had an early appointment and I came home." Brandi stated and noted Marshall wasn't coming in.

Mary noted it too and then the truck's horn honked. "What the hell Marshall?"

"Why didn't he come in?" Brandi had never heard him beep to get her sister out of the house before.

"Great he's probably not happy about getting up early. I got to go." Mary headed out and gave him a look of disbelief. Opening the truck door she glared. "You forget how to open a door and walk into a house?"

"You wanted to do this and I want to get it over with stop complaining for a change." Dante stated angrily.

Stan was in early trying to figure out how to help Marshall; Shelly would be coming on Monday so they had to survive this week without getting overly frustrated with him. It was easier said than done currently; his attitude was getting on everyone's nerves.

Stan's thought were interrupted by the sound of his phone ringing. "McQueen."

"This is Ed from IT, your computer is fixed. The problem was caused by an email sent to you from Inspector Marshall Mann."

"What do you mean it was from his email?" Stan demanded feeling his blood pressure beginning to rise.

"It looks like he did it on purpose, sir. There was a file encrypted into the email stating for your eyes only also. We set it up so that you could open it." Ed told him.

"Does that contain a virus?" Stan was thinking about meeting them at the gym and having a heated conversation with Marshall.

"No sir, it appears to have been sent to hide in the file so that no one else would see it there. The virus was relatively simple to fix and appeared to be set up that way." Ed added. "We'll have the lab top back to you in a couple of hours; we are putting some upgrades onto it since we have it."

"Fine." Stan was confused by the conversation. Maybe the file contained what was bothering his inspector but why wouldn't Marshall just come talk to him. He'd wait and give Marshall a chance to explain when they returned from the gym.

Dante drove to the gym he'd seen Mary and Marshall go to while he was observing Marshall; relief filled him when Mary got out of the truck without saying anything about the gym they were at. Entering into the gym they headed to the locker rooms to change.

"Marshall; long time no see." Dershowitz stated as he saw Marshall when he entered the locker room.

Dante looked up. "Hey, how're you doing?"

"Good. You okay?" Bobby D asked concerned.

"Yeah." Dante shrugged not knowing how much Marshall converses with the man. "I have to go Mary's waiting and she'll nag me to death if I'm not out soon."

"I hear you." Bobby watched as he left.

Mary waited impatiently by the door for Marshall to come out. When she saw him approaching she smiled. "Which torture device shall we start with?"

"Treadmill." Dante replied not feeling like doing any of them in reality but if he didn't Mary would have a fit.

"Okay." Mary answered surprised. Marshall usually preferred to run outdoors so they didn't use the treadmill when they were here. Shrugging they started with that and continued to work their way around the various equipment. The last stop they made was at the punching bag.

"Why don't you beat up the punching bag Marshall?" Mary suggested seeing what he'd do.

Dante was hot and sweaty and ready to call it a day until Mary suggested he use the punching bag; he figured it wouldn't be as much fun as using Marshall but he could blow off some of the anger brewing inside him. "Alright."

Mary watched as he pummeled the bag, deciding Marshall definitely had some anger issues at the moment by the way he was going at it non stop. The question was what was causing it and that she still didn't have an answer for.

"What'd the bag do to you?" Mary teased.

Dante heard her and slowed down before finally stopping. "It got in my way."

Mary didn't care for the biting tone that he used to answer and felt like there was a hidden meaning to it. She was about to comment when Dershowitz came over. "Have a good workout Dershowitz?" Mary asked briefly turning her attention away from Marshall.

"Are you two headed back to the office?" Dershowitz asked after nodding yes to Mary's question.

"In a few, why?" Mary asked.

"I have to stop by and talk to your boss. Thought I'd make sure it's safe from you two." Dershowitz grinned.

"You're freaking hilarious you know that?" Mary shook her head in disgust.

Dante let them banter since he wasn't sure what Marshall would do. The sweat from the workout was beginning to drift into his eyes and having enough he took his t-shirt off and began to wipe the sweat off.

Mary turned to ask Marshall something and was shocked by the bare chest and the using of the t-shirt for drying off. She'd forgotten how nice his chest was and took her time to appreciate it. There were so few times Marshall didn't have some kind of shirt on that she had to take the opportunity to view but was also stunned he did it in the gym.

Bobby D noticed and couldn't bite his retort or the chuckle. "Put some whip cream on him and you can have him for dessert." He kept his voice low so Marshall didn't hear.

Mary smacked Dershowitz and ignored his comment and thrust her towel at Marshall. "Doofus where's your head today?"

Dante ignored her grabbed the towel walked away without a reply. Bobby D had been surprised he didn't come back with a retort.

"I see he's still not in a good mood. At least his minds not in the gutter Mary." Bobby teased and headed off to the locker room to change.

Mary rolled her eyes in disgust. _I need to get laid._ She decided her lapse in judgment was the lack of dating since she and Raph split up. She headed off to the showers to hopefully cleanse her mind of her earlier thoughts of Marshall's chest.


	8. Chapter 8

Stan was getting frustrated with IT; they were late with his laptop and he had plenty of reports to work on. Ed finally showed up with the laptop and hooked everything up for Stan.

"There you go Mr. McQueen everything is updated and fixed. The attachment I told you about is on the desk top and you can access it there without having any problems. If you need anything else please let me know." Ed stated before getting out of there quickly.

Stan went straight for the attachment to decide how much trouble Marshall was about to be in. The file was titled urgent for Stan only. He couldn't figure out what his inspector was up to and clicked on the attachment; before he could look at it Mary, Marshall and Dershowitz were outside his office door.

"Bobby, come in to my office." Stan called out. "Close the door would you please." He stated closing his monitor while Dershowitz was in his office.

"I take it this is about what happened yesterday with Marshall." Dershowitz stated.

"I'd like your take on it; Mary's worried and Marshall hasn't been acting like himself for the last two days." Bobby and Stan began to go over yesterday's events.

Mary walked towards Eleanor to get the scoop on what was going on; she pretty much knew but wanted to confirm her suspicions. "Eleanor."

"Mary."

"You're going to make me ask aren't you?" Mary questioned.

"Who me?" Eleanor feigned innocence.

"Please, I take it Stan's getting Dershowitz perspective on yesterday." Mary spoke softly so Marshall couldn't hear her.

"He's worried. How'd it go at the gym?" Eleanor asked.

"I don't know, he did things he doesn't usually do and he's still not him." Mary stated frustrated.

"What things?" Eleanor asked hoping for a clue so she could help.

"It started when he showed up at my house; he always comes in this time he stayed in the truck and honked at me to come out. He ran on the treadmill which he never does; he prefers to run in the outdoors and get fresh air; he took his shirt off to wipe the sweat off of him which he never does in a public place." Mary smiled at the recollection of that.

"Nice view I take it." Eleanor joked. "I miss the gym nothing like nice sweaty smooth firm chest walking around a room."

"I hear you there." Mary couldn't argue with that one.

"Although, my John used to have this little scar on his that I found intriguing." Eleanor recalled.

Mary smiled. "It's the thought of danger or a bad ass underneath all that muscle." Mary stated and dead stopped when she ran Eleanor's words through her head. "Scar." Marshall had the firm sweaty smooth and no scar chest today; where was the scar?

Eleanor saw the look on Mary's face and was confused as to why the word scar caused the look of confusion on her face. "What's going on?" She questioned as Mary began to draw her gun.

Mary pointed the gun at "Marshall" and heard Eleanor gasp. "Who the hell are you and where's Marshall?" She roared out.

Dante looked up to find an angry Mary pointing her weapon at him. "Did you hit your head or something? I would think you'd know your own partner by now" Pretending innocence.

Stan and Bobby heard Mary's angry question and turned to find her aiming her gun at Marshall both men came flying out of his office and towards the two inspectors.

"I'm perfectly fine and you'd better start talking and I mean now. I'll ask you again. _Where_ is Marshall?" Mary was furious.

Stan wasn't sure what to think at the moment. "Mary, why are you pointing your gun at Marshall?"

"Because that's not Marshall." Mary stated firmly.

"Care to elaborate?" Dershowitz questioned thinking Mary snapped. "Because that looks like Marshall."

"At the gym when he took his shirt off, there was no scar on his chest." Mary explained.

"Right." Dershowitz answered not knowing the point to the statement; but was aware that Stan had now pulled his gun and was now pointing it at Marshall. "What am I missing?"

"Marshall was shot in the right side of his chest during one of our assignments." Mary elaborated for Dershowitz. "He has a scar from the bullet wound on his chest." Dershowitz then pulled his gun also.

"Mister I don't know who you are but you'd better start talking." Stan stated and remembered the email on his desktop. "Eleanor, do me a favor, walk behind us and go into my office; there's and email on my desktop that's listed for me only open it, print it and read it." Eleanor moved behind them and into the office.

"Stan?" Mary asked.

"The virus on my computer came with the emailed report from Marshall; when IT went to fix the problem they found a note addressed for me only embedded into the virus." Stan relayed.

Eleanor grabbed the printout and read out loud. "Kidnapped, man claims to be dead brother. Risen as Albert Jenkins changed name to Dante Jenkins. Being held at old manufacturing building outskirts of town don't know where exactly. Marshall."

"That's our Doofus." Mary smiled stating to Dante. "You fool; you gave him a computer to use. What were you thinking?"

Dante was furious. "Don't you dare call me a fool; it was working. If it hadn't been for the gym would you have figured out your precious Marshall was missing?" His questioned was laced with resentment.

"Where is Marshall?" Mary demanded again not wanting to think about Dante's point.

"Why would I tell you? He'll get what he deserves and by the time you find him it will be too late." Dante smiled.

"What did you do to him?" Stan questioned.

"I gave him a taste of my pain." Dante stated.

"What did Marshall do to you?" Dershowitz asked in attempt to understand all of this.

"Marshall stole my place in this world. Becoming a U.S. Marshal was my birthright not his; I was the first born not him. The Jenkins showed me how out parents doted on him and didn't bother to make sure I was dead. How they didn't need me because of their precious Marshall. This was my chance at getting the life I deserved; baby brother was nothing more than an obstacle in my way that needed to be removed so I could take his place. He should've been the one grabbed and thought dead; it was his entire fault. He ruined my life." He hissed.

"How old was Marshall when you were declared dead?" Mary asked.

"He was one and took over my spot from that day forward. He had no right to claim what was mine." Dante raged and pulled out Marshall's gun and pointed it at them. "I'll die before telling you where he is."

"No one needs to die here Dante; we can get you help and then have you reunited with your family. All you need to do is put the gun down and tell us where Marshall is." Stan stated calmly

"You're no different than they were; all you care about is Marshall. You'll never find him; he'll die before you do." Dante raged.

Stan looked to Eleanor. "Call and track where Marshall's truck has been since he returned with Mary."

"NO!" Dante screamed and went to shoot Eleanor but Bobby was faster and fired first hitting Dante in the chest.

"Call for an ambulance." Stan ordered as he and Mary tried to stop the blood gushing out of the wound.

"Dante where's Marshall?" Mary asked again knowing he would die.

Dante lay struggling to catch a breath. "Go to hell." He gasped out before he stopped breathing and Stan began CPR until the paramedics arrived.

The paramedics arrived but couldn't get a pulse and couldn't restart his heart with the defibrillator. Stan, Mary, Eleanor and Bobby D watched as the paramedics shook their heads before taking Dante's body out of the office.

"Eleanor, how's that trace coming on Marshall's truck?" Stan asked focusing back on finding Marshall.

Mary tried to shake the memory of seeing Dante lying there dead; it would haunt her for a long time because it was like witnessing Marshall die and that was something she never wanted to see.

Eleanor looked at the information and noted a location that had been visited several times and was on the outskirts of town. "Here." She stated quickly giving it to them.

"Let's go." Stan said as Mary and Dershowitz followed him to the elevator. "Eleanor, call for an ambulance to meet us at the building; I have a feeling Marshall will need it."

Marshall hung limply from the pipes; his entire body hurt. He was surprised Dante hadn't stopped by again this morning. The reprieve was nice but had him worried about what Dante could be screwing up now. He hoped Stan had received his message; he didn't know how much longer he could last since Dante hadn't given him any food or water. His left leg was throbbing and if he had to guess he'd say it was infected and would explain why he felt like his leg was on fire.

His mind switched to Dante and wondered if he told the truth or not. If it was true, his parents would be in for another devastating blow; if it wasn't he didn't want anyone telling them what happened. His parents had been through enough; it was the last thing he thought of before drifting to sleep.


	9. Chapter 9

Mary flew down the road to get to the building; the only thing she could hear in her head was Dante telling them Marshall would die before they found him.

Stan finally couldn't take the silence any longer. "How'd we not know?"

Mary looked at him briefly. "I don't know but it's not like this happens every day. We knew he was behaving oddly but his clothes were the same, the gestures were the same, everything he had screamed Marshall except for the anger and attitude. Dante must have studied Marshall for quite some time to pull that off."

"I guess you're right." Stan shrugged not happy with the answer. "The failure in performance should have triggered more of a reaction from me. You're right Marshall would never freeze up in a gun battle. I should've talked to him sooner maybe than we could've figured it out."

"Stan I know Marshall better than any of us and I knew something was wrong but this wouldn't have crossed my mind. The only thing I'm grateful for is that Dershowitz shot Dante, even knowing he wasn't Marshall; I'm not sure I could've pulled the trigger" Mary admitted.

"To protect Eleanor you would've however I think it will be awhile before that image ever gets out of our minds." Stan stated knowingly.

"I was thinking the same thing earlier." Mary admitted. "Think Dershowitz will be okay?" She looked in the rearview mirror seeing Dershowitz car behind them.

"In time." Stan answered. "We'll help him if he wants it."

"There it is." Mary saw the building and floored the gas pedal. Pulling in front of the building she barely had the car in park before jumping out. Dershowitz pulled up beside them and they headed towards the door.

Seeing the lock on it, Mary fired to get it off. Slowly but carefully they began to make their way through the building making sure there wasn't any unexpected company. They had a feeling Dante was working alone but since they couldn't confirm it they needed to proceed with caution.

Marshall woke when he heard the gunfire; hoping it was Mary he wanted to call out but decided not to take the chance in case it was Dante in a worse mood than yesterday. He wasn't up for being used as a punching bag or target practice.

Listening intently Marshall heard three sets of footsteps coming closer and felt his hope rise. Instinctively he knew she was here. "Mare!" He called out weakly and a few seconds later he called again. "Mare!"

Mary, Stan, and Dershowitz all stopped at the first call. They heard the second call and Mary smiled before calling back. "Are the bears home?"

Marshall managed a weak smirk before answering. "All's clear Goldilocks."

"What kind of code is that?" Dershowitz looked at Mary puzzled.

Stan just laughed. "Something only those two would use." They all moved towards where they heard Marshall's voice.

All smiles faded as soon as he came into view; his body bloody, beaten and they saw the cloth around his leg and knew that had to be covering a wound.

"Jesus." Mary slipped out as she got closer to Marshall.

"No, not quite." Marshall forced a smirk. "I'm not that good."

Mary passed Dershowitz the key to unlock the handcuffs while she and Stan supported his weight. Marshall looked towards Stan.

"Sorry about the virus but it was the only thing I could come up with that didn't let Dante know what I did." Marshall's voice was becoming raspy.

"I don't mind under the circumstances plus you made it easy for IT; now be quiet and conserve your energy. Eleanor has an ambulance coming." Stan admonished.

"You realize who you're asking to be quiet?" Mary teased lightly to hide her concern.

"I'm still here you know." Marshall deadpanned just as Bobby D released the cuffs and his hands came down and his body gave out on him.

"Easy partner, easy." Mary stated as her and Stan caught him and lowered him to the ground.

"What took so long?" Marshall questioned trying to hide the pain.

"Which part of be quiet don't you understand?" Mary rolled her eyes. "It took awhile to determine it wasn't you. With that attitude you should be grateful or I would've been forced to shoot you. What hurts?"

"Dante took care of the shooting part anyways; I think the list of what doesn't hurt is shorter." Marshall croaked out. "Thirsty."

Bobby D got up. "I have bottled water in my car." He ran out to get it.

Mary gently brushed Marshall's hair back and on her second time through it she drifter her hand down towards his forehead and felt the heat radiating off of it. "He's got a fever, Stan."

Stan noticed the glossy eyes and the sweat. "I know." He whispered back as he began to look his inspector over thoroughly.

Mary and Stan both lifted his shirt up and noticed the bruising underneath; Mary moved the shirt up higher and gently ran her hand over the scar on his chest her eyes beginning to tear up.

Marshall moved his hand to hers and squeezed it gently while trying to lighten her mood. "Stan she's feeling me up; aren't there rules about that."

"Shut up Doofus. I'm just making sure your scar is there." Mary stated but noticed him looking worse if possible. "What's wrong?" Stan looked to Marshall's face when he heard Mary's concern.

"Just feel like crap and want out of here." Marshall got out as Bobby came back with the water. "Ambulance is coming down the road; I'm going to lead them in."

Mary nodded and undid the cap. "Slow sips." She stated bringing the fluid to his lips.

Marshall couldn't recall water tasting that good. "Stan?"

"Yeah Marshall."

"Who was he? I need to know if what he said was true." Marshall was getting agitated. "Don't tell my parents about this; please."

"Marshall, we don't know who he is." Stan answered. "I won't tell your parents." He'd tell Marshall whatever he wanted to hear as long as it kept him calm.

"In jail?" Marshall questioned.

Mary didn't want to answer but knew he'd get upset either way. "Dershowitz had to shoot him; he was going to shoot Eleanor to stop her from tracing your truck."

Marshall's eyes filled with tears and he began to thrash his head back and forth. "Don't tell them they already buried him once; please don't put them through that again. It'll be my fault he's dead; please don't tell them. Don't hurt them again not like that please."

Mary grabbed his face to try and get him to stop thrashing. "Marshall! Marshall, look at me!" Mary demanded. Once his glazed eyes did she knew the fever was causing the emotions to overwhelm him. "No one is going to say anything to your parents; we don't even know if it's really him. I promise we'll find out but until then you need to calm down. I need you to stay calm. Can you do that for me?" When he nodded she swiped the tears from his face.

Dershowitz came back with the paramedics; after checking him and hooking him up to IV fluids they put him on the gurney and began to wheel him out of the building. Mary tossed Stan the keys and climbed into the ambulance after Marshall was loaded holding his hand the entire trip to the hospital.

* * *

Mary waited impatiently in the private room they set her up in; to blow off some of her nervous energy she'd begun to pace back and forth. Her pacing was interrupted as the door opened up and Eleanor walked in.

"How's Marshall?" Eleanor asked.

"I'm still waiting for them to get done with him; it could take awhile he was a mess when we found him." Mary stated.

"He was conscious though right?" Eleanor asked.

"Yeah but he was really agitated before the paramedics arrived. Marshall's scared to death of his parents finding out Dante was killed again if that's who he was." Mary told her.

"I've pulled a few strings to get some answers; a friend of mine is getting copies of the files for what happened to Marshall's brother, another one is getting me whatever they can find on the Jenkins and their family; and I had someone put a rush order on the DNA results for the lab. They should get those back in three days instead of the normal five to ten." Eleanor informed.

"Thanks Eleanor." Mary gave her a half smile.

"Marshall will be fine; he's strong and has a great support system." Eleanor hated watching when something happened to either of the inspectors as it was so painful to see the other one struggle to cope.

They looked up as the door opened and Stan walked in. "Anything?" They both shook their head and settled into the seats.


	10. Chapter 10

Stan and Eleanor made a coffee run leaving Mary by herself. It had been a couple hours already and she was really beginning to worry. The door opened again and she looked up and saw Dershowitz.

"The crime scene all taken care of?" Mary asked to distract herself from the waiting.

"Yeah, no word?" Bobby D asked.

"No. You okay?" Mary questioned.

Dershowitz face looked puzzled. "Yeah, why?"

"You shot and killed a person that looked like your friend; don't get me wrong I'm grateful it wasn't me as I know it would take a long time to get over it." Mary stated the obvious.

"I honestly don't think its hit yet but I did what was necessary and it will probably bother me later but for now I'm focusing on the real Marshall." Bobby D replied. "Did you know about his dead brother?"

"No. Marshall doesn't talk much about his family; I always assumed it was because of the marshal thing with his family." Mary shrugged.

"You're okay with that?" Dershowitz questioned.

"I never paid attention and I know how bad that sounds. My family has so much drama in it I guess I always thought Marshall had it easy." Mary did feel bad for not asking more.

Stan and Eleanor came in and handed Mary a coffee just before the doctor finally entered.

"You're here for Marshall Mann?" The doctor questioned and when they nodded yes he took a seat.

"How is he, doctor?" Eleanor questioned.

"He's dehydrated and getting IV fluids for that, the bullet wound to the left leg had an infection which we cleaned out and sewed the wound shut. It was the cause of his fever which he's being given antibiotics for. He took a pretty nasty beating and his body is covered in bruises, there was a no internal bleeding. Mr. Mann has a bump to the back of his head but the CAT scan turned up negative and there's no concussion. We're going to watch for complications or further infections. He'll be here for a minimum of three days and if all goes well he can be released then but I recommend someone stay with him just in case. He'll need plenty of rest, fluids and food. You should be able to see him in about half an hour." The doctor informed.

"Thank you." Stan answered. The doctor nodded and left the room.

The nurse came and led them to Marshall's room; they entered to see that he was still sleeping. Eleanor gasped at the sight of him; she heard the injuries but seeing them she couldn't believe there wasn't more damage.

"What did that bastard due to him?" Eleanor asked angrily.

"You really have to stop that Eleanor; I'm beginning to like you." Mary smirked and tried to keep things lighter.

"Can't have that happen now can we? If it was you it'd be a different story in case you wondered." Eleanor replied.

"Does Mary place nice with anyone?" Dershowitz asked.

"Marshall." Stan and Eleanor answered at the same time.

Mary rolled her eyes at them and grabbed a chair and moved it next to the bed. Reaching out she gently picked up Marshall's hand and held it in her own. "We're here Doofus; everything is going to be okay." She whispered softly.

Eleanor was amazed at the tenderness displayed by Mary; usually she was all crimson and brim fire. The tenderness she showed for Marshall was something to behold.

Stan and Eleanor got up a few hours later since the doctors thought Marshall might sleep through most the day. "Mary, we're going to head back to the office and see if the information came in on Albert Jenkins and also the file on Dante Mann. I want answers for Marshall; the sooner we get them the better it'll be for him. If he wakes up call me and I'll come back; otherwise I'll stop by when we have the information."

Stan and Eleanor both drove back to the office; the area where Dante died was still marked with tape and hadn't been cleaned up. The site next to Marshall's desk sent a shiver up Stan's spine.

"If you see the cleaning crew, make sure they get the mess completely cleaned up; I don't want Marshall coming back to any traces of what happened at his desk." Stan told Eleanor. None of them needed the reminder.

"No problem chief." Eleanor went to her desk and began to look through her emails. "Stan the email for Dante has arrived. I should have the one for Albert tomorrow."

Stan came out. "Can you print it out? I want to give a copy to Mary so she knows what happened. It might help her in dealing with Marshall."

"You're worried about the emotional fall out." Eleanor stated.

"How can I not be; it'll be worse if it's his brother but either way it has to bring back unpleasant memories." Stan stated.

"He was only a year old Stan." Eleanor reminded.

"His parents have had to carry that around for years; he's had to see the damage it's done to them. He was worried about them finding out when we found him there has to be a reason for his worry." Stan hadn't forgotten what Marshall said or his promise.

Stan stopped by the hospital to show Dante's file to Mary. Her head shot off the bed when the door opened.

"Hey Stan." Mary greeted half awake. "What's up?"

"Marshall wake up at all?" Stan asked handing Mary the file on Dante Mann.

Mary took the file hesitantly while shaking her head no in response to Stan's question. "Is it bad?"

"It's not pretty and I can get why he doesn't want his parents involved. No child should have to endure that kind of torture and death." Stan whispered. "Go to the cafeteria and read it; I don't want Marshall waking up and seeing the photos. I don't know what he knows or doesn't know but the last thing he needs is to see those photos."

Mary nodded and got up to leave; at the door she turned around. "If he wakes make sure he knows I'm here."

"Alright, but I highly doubt he'll wake up." Stan was pretty sure Marshall's body needed the rest after the beating it took.

* * *

Mary headed to the cafeteria and grabbed a cup of coffee before sitting in a corner away from everyone else. Somehow she felt like she was spying on Marshall's past and it bothered her some; ignoring the feeling she opened the file. She left the pictures underneath until after she read what happened.

Mary summarized the facts in her head. _Dante had been grabbed when their mother chased after Marshall who had recently learned to walk and felt the need to follow the butterfly that caught his attention as she'd been setting Dante up in the sandbox to play. _Mary smiled at that she could picture Marshall's inquisitive nature sending him after the butterfly._ When she turned to look for Marshall he was walking quickly away and she told Dante to stay while she went to get Marshall. According to the police report when Mrs. Mann had turned around after gathering Marshall up, she saw a man carrying Dante away and screamed for them to stop and for help. Dante yelled for her as they shoved him in a car and drove off. Mrs. Mann flagged down a police officer and they began the search for Dante. A huge search was performed by many volunteers, law enforcement officers and three days later Dante's body was found in the woods not too far from the park. He'd been beaten and tortured beyond recognition. Through various testing and by the tattered clothes he'd been wearing they were able to determine it was him. _

Mary felt the tears streak down her face as she looked at the pictures of Dante from the forest. It broke her heart to know that Marshall's family had to suffer through knowing their son went through that. She reached the last photo and it was one of Dante and Marshall together. It must have been the one they used to post Dante's photo. She ran a finger over Marshall's photo; he was an adorable little guy. Wiping the tears away she pulled herself together and headed back to his room.

Stan watched Mary as she entered the room. "Are you okay?"

"I will be as soon as Marshall wakes up and we get answers for him. I'm hoping it's not Dante in some ways Stan. They lost him once; what would losing him twice do to them?" Mary choked on the last part still seeing the photos in her mind.

"Whatever the answer is we'll be there for him and his family." Stan stated determined.

"Why don't you go home and get some sleep; the nurse said it will be awhile for him to wake up." Mary suggested.

"I don't suppose I could tell you to take your own advice?" Stan knew the answer and in some ways preferred one of them to stay.

"I'll sleep just fine here." Mary replied not ready or willing to let Marshall out of her sight.

"Goodnight Mary." Stan stated and accepted the folder back before leaving.

"Goodnight Stan." Mary whispered before he left. Mary laid her head back on the bed and held Marshall's hand. "Well it's just the two of us again partner; we'll get through this I promise." She whispered knowing he wouldn't hear but needing to say it anyways.


	11. Chapter 11

Mary woke to the feeling of something brushing against the top of her hand; lifting her head up she saw Marshall staring at her. "Morning sunshine." Mary stated as she glanced at her hand to see his thumb brushing across her hand.

"Hey Goldilocks." Marshall smirked as he replied.

"Dershowitz didn't like our code." Mary smirked back at him.

"He's just jealous because he doesn't get to play in fairy tales." Marshall stated firmly.

"Dork." Mary laughed before gently cupping his face. "How are you really and don't you dare tell me you're fine; nobody could be after all of this."

"I need to know Mary." Marshall felt the tears fill his eyes. "I need to know if he was Dante; if all these years we were wrong and left him with someone who made him so bitter."

"I know you do and we'll find out." Mary promised.

"You read Dante's file." Marshall stated knowing she had by the look on her face "I wandered off and he was taken. Dad was suppose to come with us to the park but had to go to work briefly; Mom was watching us till he got there. I don't remember any of it but I could hear them when they talked or yelled about it as I grew up. It nearly destroyed my parents; it took a long time before they realized that it wasn't either of their faults. The sad part is they both blamed themselves and not each other and felt like they failed each other."

"That had to be hard on you hearing all of this and trying to cope with it." Mary stated listening.

"Seeing their pain whenever someone mentioned Dante and listening to mom's sobs on the anniversary of his death or his birthday was the hardest. I never knew how to help and they didn't want to talk about it in front of me. They never ignored me and always showed me that they loved me but I always felt there was more I should've done to help them. We ended up in family therapy where everything came out; needless to say it was quite emotional but also helped us heal as much as possible." Marshall shrugged as the tears slipped unnoticed down his cheek.

Mary hadn't missed the anguish in his voice as he tried to keep the pain at bay. Reaching up she wiped the tear away with her thumb pad while placing a kiss to his cheek. "You were a kid Marshall; it wasn't you place to fix it."

"Like it wasn't your responsibility to raise Brandi?" Marshall threw back at her.

"Touché; but I wasn't a year old when everything happened and yes I took the responsibility on that should've been Jinx's. Although I don't think there's enough family therapy for my family we're pretty messed up." Mary teased lightly.

"Mom and Dad went through a lot of it; Dad hid his grief by working and Mom by crying when she thought I wouldn't hear or wasn't home. They almost ended up divorced over it." Marshall sniffled as he the memories came back.

"What happened?" Mary asked.

"They had gotten into another shouting match; I couldn't take it anymore and ran into the room begging them to stop. Promising that I'd be good from then on and begging them not to get a divorce. I apologized for just about everything you could think of." Marshall noticed the look that said give me details from Mary. "I apologized for learning to walk early, being born, not being the one that died and not being able to be more like Dante. Mom and Dad were stunned into silence and I ran out of the room into the trees and bawled. They came looking for me found me, sat me down and began explaining to me it wasn't my fault and they were sorry for making me think it was and reassured me they never regretted that I was born. We were in counseling by the next week; I apparently frightened them with all that I said."

After listening to his story Mary understood his reaction before they took him to the hospital. "I promise you we'll find out the truth and whatever the answer is we'll get through it together."

Marshall nodded slowly trying not to say anything as he was too choked up. Reaching out for her hand he took a few breaths before finally saying in a trembling voice. "I'm scared Mare, the truth scares the hell out of me. Is it terrible to think it would be better that it isn't him?"

The pain she saw reflecting in his tear filled eyes hurt her. "No; we're all thinking the same thing for you and your parent's sake. It's not wrong; it's being human." When she saw him move his arm over his eyes and his shoulders begin to tremble she adjusted the bed so he could sit up and she sat on the bed and pulled him to her. "Let it out Marshall; you've more than earned the right." Marshall finally broke down on her shoulder and she held him until he cried himself to sleep neither aware of Eleanor and Stan watching the scene with a mixture of pride and sorrow.

Mary gently laid Marshall back after she heard the shallow breathing of his sleep; then adjusting the bed back down she got up to take her seat when she saw Stan and Eleanor.

"Did you find anything else?" Mary questioned softly.

"Yes, is Marshall going to be okay?" Eleanor asked back not mentioning what they witnessed.

Mary smiled at her partner before looking back at them. "Would I let him not be?"

Stan and Eleanor smiled at that and figured Mary didn't want to talk about what happened.

"Eleanor received the file on Albert a.k.a. Dante Jenkins." Stan stated.

"Please tell me there's some good news?" Mary asked hopefully.

"That'll depend on the lab test; however I do believe at the very least we know who kidnapped Marshall's brother." Stan stated.

"Explain." Mary stated firmly feeling over protective of Marshall and his family at the moment.

"Let's wait for Marshall; he'll want to know and I'd rather only have to do this once." Stan knew the news would cause the Mann family pain all over again; no matter how it played out.

Marshall didn't leave them waiting for very long an hour after Stan and Eleanor arrived he woke up.

"Stan, Eleanor." He greeted them with caution.

Stan could tell Marshall knew they had some more information. "How are you feeling?"

"Better. What'd you find out?" Marshall wanted the information over with.

Mary grabbed Marshall's hand and was rewarded with a gentle squeeze back before Stan started with the information. "Albert Jenkins was raised by a Madeline and Rupert Jenkins who had a rap sheet the size of Manhattan. They had a son by the name of Calvin Jenkins who was on the U.S. Marshal wanted list years ago." Stan was about to continue with a condensed version when Marshall spoke up.

"Don't sugar coat it Stan just tell it as it is."

Stan nodded and continued. "Calvin was arrested by your father in a fugitive bust and was serving time in jail when he was killed by an inmate that he started a fight with. It was about six months before Dante was kidnapped. There is no record of any other children being born to Madeline and Rupert; however they had been part of a foster parent program for several years after Dante was kidnapped. Until the DNA results come back tomorrow; we won't be able to know if he was Dante or not."

"My parents don't know do they?" Marshall questioned.

"No, I've been running everything through my F.B.I. contacts and explained that it needed to be kept quiet until we had all the answers. I had to give them an explanation but they won't say anything Marshall." Eleanor added.

"Thank you, Eleanor." Marshall replied.

Stan looked at Marshall. "We have to get back to the office but Mary is going to stay with you for a few days as an added precaution. I doubt anyone else was involved but I want to be careful."

Mary perked up at that. "Thanks." She smiled at Stan.

"Isn't that a form of torture?" Eleanor teased and winked at Marshall who smiled.

"Hey!" Mary stated pretending to be insulted.

"Bye." Stan said as he grabbed Eleanor and left.

Mary looked over towards Marshall. "Are you okay?"

"I'll know tomorrow; I think." Marshall shrugged. "Dad's going to be hurt no matter what happens."

Mary could tell by his expression that he was contemplating something. "What's plaguing your mind?"

"A part of me is thinking either way it would be better if they don't know and another part knows that it's not right. They've suffered so much already; I hate to do this to them again. Another part of me is grateful that I may be able to keep the promise I made to Dante when I earned my badge."

"You didn't do this to them; not before and not now." Mary told him sternly. "What promise?"

"The one to find who hurt him and put them in jail." Marshall shrugged before yawning.

"We'll get the people who hurt him; I'll help you to get them." Mary promised. "Now get some sleep."

Mary stayed with Marshall until Stan came back and promised to sit with him while she went home to shower and change.


	12. Chapter 12

Mary walked into the house to see Brandi and Jinx at the table. She briefly thought of Marshall and Dante and wondered what she would have done if it had happened to Brandi. Yes she got on her nerves but she never wished she wasn't alive.

Walking to the table she caught Brandi off guard when she hugged her. Jinx's eyebrows shot up and both stared at Mary in shock.

"Not that I don't like hugs but what was that about?" Brandi asked suspiciously.

"Just because." Mary shrugged it off like it was no big deal.

"You're not sick are you?" Brandi had been totally caught off guard. "Are you and Marshall fighting still and where have you been all night?"

"The hospital with the _real _Marshall." Mary gave them a brief summary of what happened since it wasn't witness related. "I'll be staying with Marshall for a little while."

She had a new profound affection for her family that she was sure they would wear off quickly but in the mean time she'd appreciate it and be grateful for what she had.

Mary relieved Stan and took her spot next to Marshall who continued to sleep on and off throughout the day and night. It was during the night that he became most agitated in his sleep. Mary could tell when the nightmares started and talked to him softly while doing her best to sooth him through them. Her touch seemed to have the most effect; just rubbing her fingers over his hand seemed to settle him down some. It was the last thought she had as she drifted to sleep after midnight hands linked together with Marshall's.

Marshall woke with a start and could feel his heart racing; quickly looking around the room he spotted Mary asleep next to the bed and let out a sigh of relief. He was surprised the nightmares hadn't started sooner. Marshall noticed Mary's hand near his and gently placed his in hers before trying to go to sleep again; it helped having the physical contact for reassurance.

Eleanor handed Stan the results from the DNA test and he headed to the hospital to let Marshall know. Neither he nor Eleanor looked at the results as they felt it was unfair to do so without Marshall's okay. Stan promised Eleanor he would let her know later.

Stan smiled at the hospital door; Mary's head was on the bed near Marshall's hand and their hands were entwined with one another.

He cleared his throat and Mary's head shot up and looked towards the door. "Stan?"

Mary asked groggily.

Stan handed her a cup of coffee. "Here drink this."

Mary grabbed the coffee and looked towards Marshall. "Did the results come in?" Stan lifted the envelope. "What do they say?"

"I didn't look yet; I thought we should wait for Marshall before opening it." Stan stated firmly.

"I guess you're right; he's starting to have nightmares." Mary stated.

"That's to be expected; he did with the shootings also." Stan stated.

"Until now he was only shot once Stan." Mary reminded.

"Yours and his." Stan clarified.

"He never said anything." Mary wasn't sure if she should be offended or not.

"You had your own issues to deal with and didn't want to cause you to worry." Stan shrugged.

"He needs to stop putting everyone else first; it's not healthy." Mary complained.

"He's not deaf and is very much awake." Marshall noted causing both Stan and Mary to turn towards him.

"Doofus!" Mary exclaimed trying to cover her embarrassment at being caught.

"Right." Marshall answered sarcastically knowing what she was up to. "Are those the results?"

Stan nodded. "Are you ready for the answers?"

"Not really but I'm not sure I'll ever be so let's just get it over with." Marshall decided honesty was the best policy.

Mary squeezed his hand as Stan opened it. They both turned to look at him. He pulled out the paper and read it over.

"He wasn't your brother Marshall." Stan stated.

"Who was he?" Marshall questioned. "Did they run it against the database?"

Stan nodded. "His real name was Matthew Langley. He was kidnapped days after your brother was found."

"How did he look so much like Marshall?" Mary asked.

"I'll see what else I can find out; they arrested the Jenkins on murder charges and we can add kidnapping to that also." Stan noticed the tears pouring down Marshall's face. He indicated to Mary to look at Marshall as he moved to the other side to offer his support.

"Marshall?" Mary reached over and pulled him to her as Stan squeezed his hand in support.

Marshall pulled back when he managed to compose himself. "Sorry." He whispered his voice hoarse from the crying.

Mary gave him some water and Stan looked at him. "There is nothing to be sorry about; you've been through a lot."

"Stan, I need to know what they did to him." Marshall stated firmly. "I won't be able to let it go unless I do."

"Alright I'll see what I can do. Do you want me to call and tell your parents?" Stan asked hoping Marshall would let him do it.

"I'll call Dad and let him know." Marshall stated knowing his Dad would need to hear it first. He looked at Mary. "Why don't you go help him at the office? I need some time."

"Only if you promise to call me if you need anything." Mary didn't want to leave but since he asked she knew she had to go.

"I promise." Marshall said.

Stan and Mary entered the office and headed towards Eleanor who was on the phone and indicated to give her a minute. Stan had told her the results and she had given her FBI contact the information and what they needed to know.

Eleanor finally hung up and looked at Mary surprised to see her at the office. "How'd he take the news?"

"As well as can be expected; now he needs the rest of the story so he can put it behind him. He's calling his Dad to let him know what happened." Mary explained. "What did you find out?"

Eleanor indicated for them to take a seat. "Madeline and Rupert Jenkins were arrested last night on murder and kidnapping charges. They found evidence stored in the attic of their house plus the Jenkins assumed Dante had finished the job so they told the arresting officers everything and were mortified to know Marshall was still alive. Matthew Langley was taken when he was five as he was about the right size, shape, and build for Marshall and Dante Mann. He had the right eyes and hair color; they had Matthew's facial features altered in order to get the perfect match; they drugged him up so bad at the time he didn't have any recollection of the event. The couple had kept tabs and photos of Marshall and used them to make sure no more surgeries were needed for Matthew. They brainwashed the little boy into thinking he was Dante Mann and that his parents didn't care enough to keep looking for him. They told them they had preferred Marshall and didn't need another son that his death had been a bonus to them; and told him Marshall had taken his place by following in the footsteps of his father and relatives who all had become U.S. Marshals. The boy was raised to resent Marshall enough to want him killed. They did this for revenge because they blamed Marshall's father for Calvin's death. Calvin died in prison as the result of a fight he picked with an inmate and lost."

Mary let out a low whistle. "How do you come up with something that twisted and cruel especially to the children and their families?"

"Look how many lives were ruined." Eleanor added.

"Have the Langley's been informed off what happened to their son?" Stan asked.

"They were killed in a car crash last year." Eleanor stated sadly.

"In the grand scheme of things it might be a blessing in disguise for them." Mary said thinking of how Marshall reacted. "You imagine finding out the son you lost was found but killed; it's losing them twice."

Stan had to agree with that sentiment also. "Why don't you head back to the hospital? Marshall needs a friend right now." Mary nodded. "Do you want me to come with?"

"No, I can handle this one." Mary grabbed her things and left. "He's being released tomorrow; do you two want to come over tomorrow and we could have a dinner together at Marshall's house. Maybe having all of us around might help."

"That's a great plan Mary. Why don't I come over early and cook?" Eleanor offered remembering Marshall's comments about Mary's lack of culinary skills.

"Sounds good." Mary called out before the elevator doors closed


	13. Chapter 13

Marshall had waited a half hour after Mary and Stan left before picking up the phone and dialing his Dad. His fingers playing with the sheet on the hospital bed as his anxiety picked up at the thought of having this conversation.

"Mann residence."

Marshall was relieved his Dad answered. "Hi Dad."

"Marshall' let me get your Mom on the other line."

"Dad, no wait." Marshall panicked with that statement.

Blake Mann heard the panic is his son's voice. "What's wrong?"

Marshall took a deep breath and explained everything that happened. He could hear the change in his dad's breathing and felt horrid. "Dad, are you okay?"

Blake had sunk into the chair as he listened to Marshall's story but understood why he hadn't wanted his mother on the phone. "I'm okay son, just a lot to take in. How bad are you hurt?"

"I'm being released tomorrow; I would've called sooner but needed all the facts first." Marshall said quietly.

"Marshall it was never your burden to carry; you could've called sooner and we would have dealt with this. Yes it's hard and will bring up old wounds but you shouldn't have had to go it alone." Blake admonished his son.

"I wasn't alone Dad; Mary, Stan and Eleanor have all been here. I'm okay." Marshall wanted to reassure his father.

"Well I'm glad they helped. Look let me talk to your mother and we'll call you back. Give me the information for your hospital room." Blake stated firmly.

"I can tell her with you." Marshall reminded.

"No, she and I will talk this through; we know how to deal with this a lot better than in the past Marshall. Your mother and I'll be fine. Now get some rest." Blake waited till his son hung up before going to talk to his wife.

Marshall hung up and turned to see Mary leaning on the door frame. "You're back early."

"How'd it go?" Mary asked.

"Okay I guess; he wanted to tell Mom on his own." Marshall stated sadly.

"Trying to protect you or just wanted to deal with it his way?" Mary rose and eyebrow.

"Both I'd guess. I take it you found out the rest of the story." Mary nodded. "Tell me."

Mary explained everything to Marshall and he explained it to his parent's five hours later. He let her stay while he talked to his parents and Mary saw flashes of pain in his eyes but for the most part it went as well as it could for the circumstances. Marshall was emotionally worn out by the time the phone call was over.

"Why don't you get some sleep and I'll bust you out of this place tomorrow?" Mary told Marshall.

"I'm not sure I want to close my eyes right now." Marshall admitted.

"Scoot over." Mary kicked off her shoes and climbed into the bed next to him. "Now I'll chase the demons away and you get some sleep."

"What would Stan say if he were here?" Marshall teased Mary.

"He'd say that if it helped you get some sleep he wouldn't care." Stan said from the doorway causing both to jump and turn red in embarrassment.

"Busted." Marshall giggled and Mary snorted out a laugh.

Mary started to get up but Stan stopped her. "Stay he needs the sleep more than I care about you staying with him besides the minute I leave you'll climb back in." Stan rolled his eyes at them.

"What are you doing here?" Mary questioned.

"Just wanted to check in on Marshall before going home; your parents called me by the way." Stan stated.

Mary felt Marshall's body stiffen at that. "What for?" Marshall asked worriedly.

"To make sure you told them everything about your injuries and to thank us for being here for you. They're not angry or upset with anyone. They also wanted to thank us for getting the people that killed Dante." Stan relayed.

"Did they sound okay?" Mary and Stan both noted the insecure voice and wondered if that was how it had been when he was little.

"They sounded okay for the circumstances Marshall; they'll be okay." Stan reassured. "I'll see you both tomorrow.

"Night Stan!" They both stated.

"What's tomorrow?" Marshall asked.

"I managed to convince Eleanor to cook us supper tomorrow night and Stan of course gets to come." Mary added as an afterthought. "Now sleep." She ordered.

Marshall rested his head on Mary's shoulder and managed to drift off as she drew lazy circles with her fingertips on his arm until she too joined Marshall in sleep while keeping her promise of chasing his demons away for the night.

The next morning Marshall was released and Mary drove him home. She had gone into his house before they discharged him and cleaned and changed everything in the house since Dante had used his things and because she didn't want any reminders of what happened there.

Marshall, Mary, Stan, and Eleanor were all gathered around the table eating the supper Eleanor had prepared while Marshall looked around the table and was grateful for the friends he'd found in Albuquerque. He knew his following announcement wouldn't go over well but he needed to tell them or they'd start a man search for him when they couldn't find him.

"Eleanor, thank you for this wonderful supper." She smiled and nodded at him. They could all tell there was something more coming and they waited. "I wanted to also let you know that I'm going to be headed to Phoenix in the morning since I can't go back to work right away."

"Why?" Mary demanded more than asked.

"There's something I need to do there." Marshall stated plainly.

Stan looked between Mary and Marshall and knew that their schedules were actually kind of light this week with everything that happened. "Marshall the doctor stated one of us should keep an eye on you; I don't have a problem with you going somewhere but one of us needs to come with to make sure you're okay."

"I don't want to impose." Marshall said quietly. "It'll only be for one day."

Mary punched his shoulder. "Don't be stupid; it's not becoming of you. I'm assuming I can go with." Mary turned her attention to Stan.

"I'll keep an eye on things." Stan knew the reason behind Marshall's request.

They said goodnight to Eleanor and Stan several hours later and Marshall went to pack a bag for the overnight trip. Mary walked in and watched him pack.

"Why are we going to Phoenix, Marshall?" Mary asked gently.

"Dante." Marshall answered softly.

"He's buried there?" Mary asked knowingly.

"I'll get you up in the morning and we'll head out. Goodnight Marshall." Mary hesitated to leave his room.

"Mare" Marshall called out. "Would you mind…" He started stopped and tried again. "I don't want to be alone. Can you stay?"

"I thought you'd never ask." Mary quipped lightly knowing he was hurting inside.

They lay down together and Mary held Marshall's hand as they both fell asleep. Marshall's nightmares woke Mary a couple of times during the night and each time she ran her fingers gently through his hair until he calmed down before waiting for the next one to come.

They woke up at five in the morning and were on the road to Phoenix by six; Mary knew they would arrive before one in the afternoon. It would give Marshall time at the gravesite and then they'd stay overnight before heading back tomorrow. He had talked about coming home the same day at first but Mary insisted they spend the night so he didn't push himself to hard. Mary was worried about him physically since he seemed so focused on the emotional side she feared he'd ignore his physical injuries.

The ride was made in virtual silence and seemed to take forever. Marshall stared out the window lost in deep thought. Normally she would have said something to provoke him but this time she figured he needed to prepare himself for seeing his brother's grave.

It was a little before one when they pulled into Phoenix and Marshall finally spoke. "Can we stop?" He pointed to the flower shop she pulled over and let him run in. "Thanks." He said before giving directions to the cemetery when he returned with the flowers.

Pulling up in the cemetery she put the truck in park as Marshall stared out the windshield. "Do you want me to come with?" Mary asked.

"Give me ten minutes first okay?" Marshall looked at her and she nodded.

Mary watched as Marshall limped to the gravesite as if he carried the burden of the world on his shoulders. A lone tear escaped as she continued to watch both him and the clock.

Sitting down next to the grave Marshall laid the flowers across the headstone. He gently traced the engravings with his fingers before whispering. "We got them; the people that hurt you. They won't be able to hurt anyone else just like I promised years ago. I'm sorry it took so long; I never forgot the promise." His voice cracked towards the end and he felt the tears start all over again.

Mary saw his shoulders begin to shake and didn't care that he still had four minutes left. She got out of the truck and moved quickly to get to his side. She sat behind him and pulled him into her arms rocking him gently back and forth trying to sooth his pain.

"I never got to know him before they stole him from us. I never even got to know my own brother Mare." His voice trembled and shook from the tears and pain and Mary grieved for the two brothers who never had a chance to grow up and do things together.

The devastation in his voice caused her eyes to fill with tears but she kept her voice steady as she replied. "I know that you were both cheated of that and the people responsible will pay but Dante is still with you Marshall. He's in your heart and looking out for you; no one can take that away from you. _No one_." She held him till the tears finally stopped.

Marshall swiped the moisture from his cheeks. "Thanks Mare."

Mary needed to lighten things up as Marshall was too stressed out. "My pleasure just don't tell a soul or my reputation will be ruined."

Marshall gave her a half smile at that. "Your secret is safe with me." They stayed for a little while longer as Marshall related stories his grandparents would tell about Dante. "I think I'm ready to go."

"Okay, where do they have good pie? I'll even treat." Mary questioned knowing pie makes everything better.

Marshall's eyes widened. "I know just the place."

They drove to the restaurant Marshall recommended for pie. After ordering he looked at Mary before stating. "Did you know that apple pie is considered to be the number one choice of fruit pie flavor according to a 2008 survey by Crisco? Also the most popular pie holiday is considered to be Thanksgiving."

Mary smiled and let him ramble. It was the first time he sounded like himself and if it made him happy for the time being than she'd let him ramble on. They drove to the hotel and she helped him into the room since his left leg was starting to hurt.

Marshall lay on the bed and Mary scooted in next to him. He looked over at her. "Thank you for coming with me and helping me with all of this. I appreciate it more than you know."

Mary kissed his cheek. "It's the least I could do; I'm sorry I didn't figure out it wasn't you sooner."

"Besides the attitude and subtle hints to clue you in on something was wrong, how could you. It was scary how much he looked like me." Marshall shrugged.

"It's the only time I've ever been thankful to Horst for shooting you." Mary smiled and noted Marshall yawning. "Get some sleep Doofus; your body needs to heal."

"Stay?" Marshall asked.

"Always for you." Mary whispered to his sleeping form before wrapping a protective arm over him as she eventually fell asleep convinced there'd be no nightmares tonight for him.


End file.
